Mayhem by Pinborough Sarah

Author:Pinborough, Sarah [Pinborough, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books
Published: 2013-04-24T16:00:00+00:00

23

London. November, 1888

Dr Bond

We made a strange pair, the little hairdresser and I, on our nightly rendezvous searching the streets of London, him with his filthy skin, and I with my stiff back which gave me away, no matter what I chose to wear. Kosminski’s sister, although obviously wary of me, not knowing what interest I might have in her brother’s well-being, had gone some way to smartening him up, forcing him into clean clothes and insisting that he at least washed his most intimate parts and his armpits. I too made these a condition of his assisting me in my search – I did not wish to draw any more attention to us than was absolutely necessary. I could only imagine what Inspector Moore would make of my association with one of his suspects, should it be discovered.

It was four days before we found the priest – I could not remember the route to his rooms, much to my dismay, and instead I had taken the little Polish hairdresser to the various opium dens, hoping that my visit hadn’t scared the priest away from them. I doubted that, though: the priest was not afraid of anything I could do to him. Kosminski did not speak much, perhaps because his English was poor, or maybe because he was clearly uncomfortable in the company of others, and I found that suited me. Curious as I was about how he and the priest could have spoken such similar words, I could not help but feel I was allowing myself to be dragged into a whirlpool of madness. I had been convinced the priest was insane, and everything in Kosminski’s behaviour implied the same about him – so what of me, I wondered? Here I was, wanting answers from them; what did that say about my own sanity?

On the fourth night, while we were loitering outside the opium dens of Bluegate Fields, my cravings overtook me, and I led Kosminski inside. I told myself I would have just the smallest of pipes – not enough to make me sleep. As soon as the sweet smell of the poppy hit me my mouth started watering – but I was also repulsed, perhaps fear of the lost time I had suffered previously. Since meeting the priest, I had broken my own rule on self-medicating, taking laudanum when the urges became too strong, but it was not the same as the bliss of drifting on one of the cots. Chi-Chi was serving another customer, so we sat on a low bed and waited.

Kosminski was fascinated by the den – perhaps because those around us were in such a relaxed state. I thought it had been a long time since he had experienced that sort of relaxation.

‘And the priest – he does this?’ he asked quietly.

‘Not like this. He takes something stronger. This makes you dream, but that …’ I remembered the sensation. The clarity. ‘It gives you visions.’

‘Visions?’ Kosminksi leaned in, alert. ‘I have visions – my grandmother’s visions.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.